Does High Foreign Students Attendance Equate To A Quality
Aviation Program?

Many
Foreign Students Attend UND’s Aerospace Program But That Does Not Mean UND Has
A Good Aviation Program

By
Vivian Nelson; ATP ASMEL, CE-500, Comm SES, CFII, MEI, BGI

Quite
often, UND will broadcast the fact that numerous foreign students attend UND to
obtain their pilot training. UND, of course, thinks this fact will impress
members of the general public. However, any seasoned aviation professional who
chose to specialize in flight training realizes there is nothing great about a
school that has an abundance of students from abroad.

Why Foreign Students Come To The United States
To Train

In many countries,
aviation is a highly restricted activity. These restrictions range from pilots
not being allowed to fly at night, land at major airports, fly above certain
altitudes, or fly unrestricted cross country flights, just to a name just a few
operational obstacles. Additionally, certain countries and air carriers look
down upon pilot licenses issued by some smaller countries (a practice frowned
upon by the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO). Worst of all,
pilot training in most other countries is prohibitively expensive. Consequently,
foreign aviation students flock to flight schools, big and small throughout the
United States.Some of these
schools are so small they have only two aircraft, one instructor and operate off
non-towered grass strips.

Foreign Flight Students: A Plus Or Potential
Hazard?

Many
foreign pilots lack adequate communication skills, which by itself is a safety
concern. This fact coupled with the low experience level of many flight
instructors, especially those trained at “pilot mills” such as UND leaves
the airspace saturated with low-time, improperly trained and ill-supervised
students who make flying a hazardous endeavor, especially in high-density traffic
situations.